THIS is my second season as pupil assistant to Paul Nicholls and I think I have one of the best jobs in racing.
I work closely with Paul, head lad Clifford Baker, assistant trainer Tom Jonosan, fellow pupil assistant Harry Derham and head lad David Rochester in the day-to-day running of both our yards.
My day starts at 6am where I assist David in our Highbridge yard before heading to Manor Farm Stables to assist with the daily work list. We ride three lots each a day. We try and ride the same lots each day, when everything allows, and my favourite horse to ride is The Outlaw. I was very lucky to ride him in a bumper in his first season and he was bred in Wexford by Padhraic Doran. When required, too, I drive horses to the races to represent Paul with owners, a part of the job I really enjoy.
With the National Hunt season now in full swing the excitement in the yard increases. It is a great time of the year when many new recruits make debuts for the yard. Already we have seen the likes of Adrien Du Pont and Romain De Senam make impressive winning debuts. It is also a time when our novice chasers start to appear, and the classy Calipto and It’s A Close Call both scored recently in good style.
October marked a landmark achievement for Paul when he saddled his 2,500th winner in the shape of Abidjan at Exeter. A truly remarkable feat and let’s hope for many more!
Along with a high class bunch of horses we are very lucky to have an equally talented roster of jockeys, headed by Sam Twiston-Davies, Nick Schofield, Sean Bowen and claimers Harry Cobden, Jack Sherwood and Jordan Williams. We also have Conor O’Farrell and Michael Nolan in to school.
Last weekend was a huge weekend for us, with runners at Wetherby, Ascot, Down Royal and Carlisle. It took a lot of sorting out, and a lot of miles to cover!
On Friday I left the yard at 5am with two runners heading on the long trip to Wetherby. We also had arranged for our remaining two runners that were declared for Saturday to head to Wetherby on Friday at lunch time along with two runners bound for Carlisle on Sunday.
The remaining four horses arrived with me at Wetherby racecourse around 7.30pm and we got them settled in.
Saturday was another early start as I was up to feed the six horses before Becky (Saphir Du Rheu’s groom) and I rode out Saphir Du Rheu and For Two on the racecourse at Wetherby.
We were not the only ones who did an overnight at Wetherby as Colin Tizzard, Harry Fry and Philip Hobbs all had horses boarding there as well.
After racing on Saturday, Becky and I headed further north to Carlisle in preparation for Sunday’s racing. Again our routine with the horses began with an early feed and a good walk out for the runners before a well deserved fry up for ourselves!
It was great to be involved in the preparation of a horse like Saphir Du Rheu who carries a lot of hopes for the yard this season and it was great for him to get a perfect start on Sunday. A couple of hours after his win, we made the long 300-mile journey home to Ditcheat. I had a great few days and it was definitely worth the long hours in the box.
Donna Hills, our travelling head girl, went to Down Royal with two runners. It has always been a happy hunting ground for Paul and this year was no different with Ptit Zig winning impressively and Rocky Creek finishing second.
This weekend we expect to have runners at Wincanton, Aintree and Sandown. For more information on Paul’s runners check out his Betfair blog.
Web: https://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/paul-nicholls/